It is said that the head of the Herbal Hall, Mr. Thompson the Good, was a notorious outlaw in his early years, infamous throughout the region of Zhuqi County. Later, he washed his hands of violence and crime, joined the renowned Medicine King Gang in Pingzhou, and became the head of the Herbal Hall under the gang, supplying medicinal herbs for them. He even earned the nickname Mr. Thompson the Good in the martial world. Now, he has become the richest and most powerful man in Zhuqi County, wielding immense influence, and is considered an equal by the county magistrate of Zhuqi County.

However, the people of Zhuqi County who know the true background of Mr. Thompson the Good all secretly curse him behind his back as a ruthless villain who devours people without spitting out their bones. In the entire county, he is considered the most vicious, even more so than the county magistrate who mercilessly squeezes the people dry.

All the constables know these things, but none dare to speak of them aloud, only daring to mutter to themselves when no one is around.

The powerful status of the Herbal Hall in Zhuqi County is something these lowly, overworked constables who run around catching bandits could never hope to compare with. Not to mention the head Mr. Thompson the Good, even a slightly higher-ranking master from the Herbal Hall could order them around with impunity.

A young constable noticed that Officer Thompson's wine bowl was empty, so he quickly picked up the large wine jar on the table and filled it to the brim, not a drop more or less, his pouring skills impressively practiced.

He flattered, “Mr. Thompson, I heard something yesterday. It seems the Herbal Hall is about to publicly recruit a batch of herb-picking boys under the age of twelve in the county. Could you please put in a word for me and help my nephew get in to learn a trade? I will never forget your kindness, Mr. Thompson, for the rest of my life.”

The other constables also put down their wine bowls and listened intently. After all, who among them didn’t have a son or nephew? If they could secure a good job for their children or nephews at the most powerful household in Zhuqi County, the Herbal Hall, they would have something to look forward to—a comfortable life.

Even Henry Clark, hiding in the shadows at the side of the shed, was startled when he heard the constable mention that the Herbal Hall was about to publicly recruit herb-picking boys under twelve. His heart began to race, sensing that this might be an opportunity.

Henry Clark immediately, despite the danger, poked his head out from the patch of wild grass to listen carefully to what the constables were saying, trying to figure out what was going on.

Officer Thompson was gnawing on a beef bone when he heard this, and the meat in his mouth suddenly stopped moving as he showed a troubled expression. “Well, it’s true that the Herbal Hall is about to publicly recruit herb-picking boys. But, being a herb-picking boy is definitely not a good job!”

At this point, he seemed to think of something, but didn’t say any more.

Officer Thompson always liked to boast about his family ties with Mr. Thompson the Good in front of the other constables, but whenever the topic of the Herbal Hall came up, he would often clam up, as if he had some concerns.

The other constables grew anxious. Why stop talking at such a crucial moment? Normally, it wouldn’t matter, but now that the Herbal Hall was recruiting apprentices, this kind of opportunity didn’t come every day.

They all began to offer him meat and wine, taking turns to flatter him, “Mr. Thompson, you’re Mr. Thompson the Good’s relative, and you know the Herbal Hall better than anyone here. Please tell us about the Herbal Hall—how can we get in?”

Bowl after bowl of wine and meat was brought to him, and Officer Thompson, unable to resist their persuasion, said:

“All right, since we’re brothers, I’ll give you a word of advice today, so you won’t suffer losses in the future and blame me for not warning you. The Herbal Hall is divided into two sub-halls: the Inner Hall and the Outer Hall. The Outer Hall specifically trains a group of herb gatherers to go into deep mountains, forests, dangerous peaks, and streams—the most perilous places—to pick wild herbs. The Inner Hall is responsible for sorting, identifying, drying, cutting, and preparing herbs, managing the shopfront, transporting medicines, and so on, and they usually stay in the county.

If you have connections and money and can get into the Inner Hall, that’s great—you get paid to enjoy life, much better than us constables who work ourselves to death and risk our lives.

But if you end up in the Outer Hall, tsk tsk, I can’t say much about what goes on in there, but don’t say I didn’t warn you: of those who go up the mountains to gather herbs, if one or two out of ten survive, that’s already pretty good. It’s even more miserable than being a constable.

The Herbal Hall is a branch of the fifth largest martial gang in Pingzhou—the Medicine King Gang. Their rules are strict, and many inside stories are never revealed to outsiders. If you have children or nephews at home and are thinking of getting them into the Herbal Hall, use your connections to get them into the Inner Hall—never the Outer Hall. If you don’t know the inside story and rashly join the Outer Hall, you’re courting death.”

The constables were secretly delighted. As long as they knew the inside story, things would be much easier.

As for using connections, wasn’t there one right in front of them? The rest was just a matter of money. Using Chief Officer Thompson’s connections would also require quite a bit of silver. This was a bit tricky, as these low-level, errand-running constables didn’t usually have much extra money. Those with some silver would try to figure something out. Those without simply gave up on the idea of getting their children or nephews into the Herbal Hall.

Chapter 3: Spending the Night in the Shed

After Chief Officer Thompson finished speaking, he gnawed the last of the beef bone, casually tossed it outside the shed, clapped his hands, and got ready to leave.